"What is man but a mass of thawing clay?" (Final Part of Walden)

In the final portion of Thoreau's, Walden, Walden writes of both Wintertime and Spring. By this point in the novel Thoreau becomes much more likable. In the chapters on the winter months titled "Former Inhabitants", "Winter Visitors", "Winter Animals", and "The Pond in the Winter", Thoreau writes about exactly what the chapter titles entail. In "Winters Visitors", Thoreau talks about his friends who come to visit him during the lonesome winter months including William Ellery Channing, Amos Bronson Alcott, and possibly he most notable of all visitors, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who Thoreau identifies as "Old Immortal". It is always really interesting to me reading about interactions between two literary figure heads, you always hear in that they where friends or what not but thinking about their conversations and interactions, even the dynamics of their relationship is really odd. Thoreau also talks about, of course, descriptions of nature. This includes the pond in the wintertime and the animals and acres of land that surround his cabin. This is more interesting than what he describes in past chapters (The Bean Fields) because he describes the winter air and desolate landscape in a really interesting way. During "The Pond in Winter" Thoreau begins to ponder eternity and the "infinite" Walden Pond; Thoreau comes to the conclusion that heaven is both "under our feet as well as over our heads". Thoreau's thoughts and ideas about infinity are what I really like to hear about much more than monotonous descriptions. His philosophical viewpoints really make me like him much more. In the final chapters of Walden, Thoreau speaks about ore philosophical beliefs and such, he also sneaks in quite a few biblical references that remind you that no matter how nuanced Thoreau sounds, he still is deeply wrapped up in religion as everyone was in this era. It is easy to forget that some had such religious beliefs because people who model Thoreau in modern time (Hippies) tend to not be very religious. Thoreau becomes much more intense in the last bit and is really trying to convey that this book is meant to change the mind of many. I really liked Walden all together, even if at times it was really boring, The whole transcendentalist ideas and concepts are really brilliant and I think that their impact on writing is definitely still seen today.

Let us first be as simple and well as Nature ourselves, dispel the clouds which hang over our brows, and take up a little life into our pores.

In the first portion of Henry David Thoreau's, Walden, Thoreau explains his living experiment of moving into nature to strip his life down to the basics. He speaks of moving to he banks of the Walden pond in Ralph Waldo Emerson's cabin. Throughout the entire first chapter, Economy, he explains the basics f his idea. He explains how many question his decisions, but also how he doesn't want to live a life of a farmer, who he believes are, "digging their own graves before they are born" (Thoreau, 4). His main idea is that life needs to be stripped to the basics, and that we should live simplistically in nature and throw away all of our materialistic ideas. Thoreau's ideas are completely justified though, he was writing as a member of the transcendentalist movement and their ideas of going back into nature, away from the industrialization so that we could find ourselves is extremely insightful. Many speak of how Thoreau was a fraud in that he was living on the border of a town and living in a cabin that was pre-made and furnished; however, he admits this in his novel, he acknowledges in the first paragraph that it his experiment is temporary and not a life-long ordeal. Also, Thoreau's work cannot be read through cynical eyes as an instruction manual, more as a book of conceptualized ideas and thoughts. If you read the book with preconceived notions that Thoreau's in a fraud and contradictory, then you aren't going to enjoy Walden for what it is. Thoreau's transcendentalist ideas are simple, to live in nature, stripped to the basics, and to live a full life of appreciation of the world around you; if modern day society took more cues from Thoreau then maybe we wouldn't have so many problems with greed and corruption.

“But it was alright, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.”

In the final portion of 1984 everything really takes a turn for the worst. O'Brian turns out to be a spy (what!?) and the Brotherhood unravel itself as another sham organization of the government. After Julia and Winston wake up one morning in his flat the Party surrounds him and takes him in to be brainwashed. They preform brain washings on him until his brain his turned into mindless, conformist-mush; every thought of rebellion and a world he once believed he could escape to disappeared and he begins his post-brainwashed life of victory gin and dull work. But when I was reading I began to think, what if the the governments involvement traces further back than his involvement with O'Brian? What if it was the government that had planted the journal way-back-when in the Proles section of the country? George Orwell clearly conveys that the government is largely in control, but could they have predicted actions of Winston so perfectly? Or maybe they just planted a journal in the first place, not caring who ended up owning it and tracked the usage? Was it sheer coincidence that Winston went down this rare path of rebellion or was it the governments plan from the beginning? George Orwell teaches his readers one main message in this book, trust no one. Every single person gets betrayed in this book, from the beginning with his neighbors and their child spies, O'Brian betraying Winston, and even in the end Winston betrays his own beloved Julia. George Orwell was either extremely paranoid or on point with the patterns of humans. We like to believe that in the end we sacrifice it all for love but in the end our own self-worth concurs all feelings towards others, and that is exactly what Winston does in the end, he is brain-washed and gives up everything, all so that he can live in a black and white society with a few too many eyes watching your every move. Was it all worth it though?

PART 2

In the second portion of George Orwell's novel, "1984", Winston begins to fulfill his rebellious fantasies towards Big Brother. He begins to see the dark-haired beauty, Julia on a regular basis, meeting above Mr. Charrington's shop. The affair begins with a note from Julia simply stating, "I love you" and from there their romance begins. Him and Julia both believe the same ideals of independence and as his relationship with Julia begins to move forward, so does his relationship with his coworker, O'Brian. O'Brian invites him to his flat for the newest edition of Newspeak; this is where Winston and Julia learn of the secret brotherhood that O'Brian is a part of and as hey both join, they begin to learn all about the mysterious Goldstein and the secret world that Big Brother has not discovered yet. Throughout this portion Winston's relationships are really forming. Before, Winston was simply a man sitting in his flat scheming and obsessing about thoughts of rebellion from conformity. In modern day times we call those types of people mental. But once Winston unties with Julia and O'Brian, his entire world changes from being some guy who was a bit mad to a real threat to society. It is not people alone who change the world and shake it to its very core, but the relationships people form in the process of changing the world. To succeed at something you must create a basis of people on which you can rely and trust and that is exactly what Winston is experiencing. The relationships he is forming during this portion of the book make him into something viable towards the government and nothing is more threatening to a totalitarian dictatorship than a group of free-thinkers.

WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

In the novel, "1984", Orson Wells tell the story of a man, Winston Smith who is living in the territory known as Oceania (formerly known as England). Smith works as a "Speakwrite" in the section of the ministry labeled, "Ministry of Truth". Smith lives a monotonous life under the rule of "Big Brother", except Smith is different; he is curious; he is rebellious. He begins to record his feelings in a journal bought in the Proles (the poorest) section of the country. The first time he writes the feelings come rushing to him until he realizes that he is writing "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER" over and over again. He records his thoughts, memories, and feelings in this journal, while at the same time; he is constantly aware of spies in everyone he meets. He illustrates how the government has turned everyone into enemies, even children are used as spies to rat out whomever the suspect, including their parents. The government has suppressed the peoples rights from chocolate to sex; they are erasing history and changing historical accounts to their liking. In the book, Smith writes in his journal of how he misses sex so dearly. He writes of his wife, who hated sex, and of his most recent sexual encounters (with an old prostitute from Proles); he also writes of his new crush, a dark haired woman from government who he believes is quite likely a spy. This book, supposedly a prediction of the future, is much to severe of a prediction to be realistic. We as humans in the 21st century have been educated to the point that we are not willing to give up our rights even if it means to die for them. For example: in the middle east currently country after country are taking a stand against oppressive governments such as in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya. They were under the rule of a main leader (some cases more extreme than others) and they believed that the way their ruler was ruling didn't suit them so they revolted, and most countries are winning. The kind of oppression of that large of a body of people seems impossible seeing as there will always be the Winston Smith's of the world who recognize the unjust works their government is doing. The only way slightly plausible of creating this Big Brother society would be if the government of a country followed Marxist ideals and completely exterminated an entire race, even then they would have to go through tedious work of changing records and blocking their new society from the outside world. Oceania is an extreme instance but at the same time Wells is spot on with the type of theories about governmental control but not necessarily in the future; governments have been hiding secrets, suppressing individuals, and corrupting since the dawn of time. Orson Wells just writes of a world where the advancing of technology has brought the big brother we've always known into another dimension.

The End.

The book Interview with a Vampire, by Anne Rice is the story of three vampires, Lestat, Claudia, and Louis. At first Lestat is the only vampire in New Orleans until Louis and later on Claudia are both turned into vampires. Throught much conflict with Lestat, Claudia decides to retaliate and attempt to kill him, Louis and Claudia flee to Europe only to encounter more of their kind in Paris. After meeting a twisted cult of vampires in Paris a series of unfortunate happening occur until Louis is left alone with a new vampire, the leader of the vampire cult, Theatres De Vampires, Armand. After a bit of adventure in Europe with Armand Louis finally realizes that he must return to New Orleans, where he lives in solitude mourning the death of his beloved Claudia. He becomes almost a Lestat like character in the end as Lestat was in the beginning of the book, a lone vampire killing every human he passes. The entire story is told from as if written directly from an interview with Louis himself, conducted by a young journalist. This entire story is full of hidden gender perceptions and it can be said that this book kind of kick started the vampire trend. Throughout the book Louis and Claudia share a sort of twisted love connection; with immortality becomes the lessoning of the normal stigmas of romance. Claudia is five years old when she is turned into a vampire, but as she grows older her mind matures into that of a woman, she becomes a strong leader in the book even though she still has the appearance of a five year old. Her and Louis develop the sort of intimate relationship the sort of intimate relationship of a couple without the normalcy. This book explores more than just the lives of vampires, on a deeper level it explores relationships and how they evolve through immortality.

And dying now would be such a calamity, wouldn't it?

For my group book we are reading Interview with A Vampire by Anne Rice. This novel is exactly what it seems; the whole story is written as to be a long interview between a boy (presumably a reporter) and of course, a vampire. From the beginning of the book we hear of many things ranging from the vampire's history before he met his fate to become a blood sucking creature of the night to his transformation into a vampire to his life as a vampire with his less than endearing teacher, Lestat. In the beginning the vampire, Louis Du Pointe du Lac, is simply a plantation owner in New Orleans, who lives with his mother, brother, and sister. From there on the plot twists away from the monotony of simply owning a plantation to his new life as a vampire. The plot turns when Louis and Lestat's slaves begin to fear an unknown monster feeding off the community. The book so far is really very fascinating with the story being told form the mysterious vampire Louis, with occasional interjections from the interviewer. This book, later transformed into a movie staring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Kirsten Dunst, is sometimes thought of the book that brought about books and movies such as Twilight and Trueblood. This story though is much more interestingly told, their are no cliche plot lines between the beauty and the beasts, because in this story, they are all beasts. They have regrets of their blood sucking ways ,however; that certainly doesn't keep them from continuing to drink blood. This book has proved itself to be a worthwhile read so far, but we'll see how it goes, if the recent vampire craze has taught us anything it is that a plot about vampires can quickly become tired